Thirty different yeast strains belonging to four different genera (Candida, Debaryomyces, Hansenula and Pichia) were evaluated for xylitol production in rice straw hemicellulose hydrolysate under two aeration levels. Candida guilliermondii FTI-20037, C. mogii NRRL Y-17032, C. parapsilosis IZ-1710 and C. veronae IZ-945 produced xylitol from rice straw hemicellulose hydrolysate with high yields (> 60%). The best performance was by C. mogii, which yielded 0.65 g xylitol/g at 0.40 g/l.h over 75 h.